This is why I burn Wood Pellets

[Don2222]

Hello

Please do not get me wrong, I luv a nice wood fire and the heat a good wood fire gives with it's nice warm glow.

However when I went to Shaw's in Salem NH today I was very shocked and insulted at the price shown below!!

Save $1.00 only $8.99 for Premium firewood. It is birch wood that is all!!

I hope that big pile sits there and none of it get's sold until they start lowering the price!!
Does anyone else feel that way? If I burned wood, Shaw's would get a burning letter or email from me about that price

Firewood around here is approx. $250.00 a cord!!

Premium wood pellets are $197.00 per ton

 

[sebring]

I'll just burn dollar bills instead to save money..

 

[jharkin]

Firewood around here is approx. $250.00 a cord!!

What's your price per ton for pellets? A true cord of hardwood can be close to 2 tons of wood. I can get a green cord in the of season for 150 or less and logs for 75. Some I get free. A lot cheaper per BTU by my math.....

 

[JustWood]

That is a different league of firewood.
Here in the sticks we call that "Bear rug wood" cuz all the city slickers with fireplaces buy that stuff. On the weekend they break out the ebay bought bear rug,,,,, start a fire,,,,, crack a bottle of Gran Mar Hoochie ,,,, and then getchasum!
That kinda WOOD is priceless

 

[BrotherBart]

No different than stacks of six buck a bag pellets. And I can't go down on my property and cut a pellet tree. :cheese:

 

[Dix]

There's a big difference between between a bag o' pellets and an arm load of firewood.

Mine will burn when there's no electricity for starters

 

[WellSeasoned]

Pellets are a woodburners droppings. :coolsmile:

 

[billb3]

That is a different league of firewood.
Here in the sticks we call that "Bear rug wood" cuz all the city slickers with fireplaces buy that stuff. On the weekend they break out the ebay bought bear rug,,,,, start a fire,,,,, crack a bottle of Gran Mar Hoochie ,,,, and then getchasum!
That kinda WOOD is priceless

and the ones that got good at the getting some make smores for the rug rats in the chimineas.
an armload of pine used to be $5 across from the campground.

 

[Don2222]

Firewood around here is approx. $250.00 a cord!!

What's your price per ton for pellets? A true cord of hardwood can be close to 2 tons of wood. I can get a green cord in the of season for 150 or less and logs for 75. Some I get free. A lot cheaper per BTU by my math.....

Hello

A cord of hardwood is not close to 2 tons of pellets it is much closer to 1 ton of wood pellets/
In fact since you can start and stop a wood pellet stove and vary the heat, the heat is on only when needed. This fact is NOT reflected below so the cost of pellets is even less. Actually I pay $600 for 3 tons that heats my house for the winter!! The stove is off the hours I do not need it when the weather is mild outside!

Here is a comparison chart. I updated the cost of wood and pellets
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/fuel-value-calculator.pdf

---Fuel---------------Gross heating value--Efficiency (%)--Net heating value------Fuel required for 1 million Btu of usable heat----Average cost/unit------Total annual
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------fuel cost
Seasoned firewood----20 million Btu/cord--------77--------15.4 million Btu/cord----0.065 cord---------------------------------------------$250/cord-------------$1625
Premium wood pellets-16.4 million Btu/ton-------83--------13.6 million Btu/ton-----0.073 ton-----------------------------------------------$197/ton--------------$1438

 

[Don2222]

There's a big difference between between a bag o' pellets and an arm load of firewood.

Mine will burn when there's no electricity for starters

There is another difference

The bag o' pellets is right in my basement and I can dump right into my hopper and lasts 24 hours! To fetch an arm load of logs I used to go outside and freeze my tail off to get!

As far as power goes, a generator works great if you need one!

 

[begreen]

Point being that at 8.99 an armload, a cord of wood would be close to a thousand bucks. No one I know would pay that except a very occasional burner looking for a weekend fire.

There is another big difference. If my wood gets a little damp, who cares? Try that with a bag of pellets.

 

[billb3]

Strawman hay is expensive, too.

 

[Gary_602z]

Comparison of pellets to wood is relative to your area. Pellet price is fairly consistent all over whereas wood price can vary wildy depending on the area. Aound here you can find it for 150.00 cord.

Also why worry about what somebody wants to sell a bundle of wood for if you don't burn it and have no intentions of buying it? :roll:

Gary

 

[NH_Wood]

To me, the major advantage of wood over any other heating fuel is that I can gather it myself and save huge money - can't to that with NG, oil, electricity, or pellets. Cheers!

 

[Lumber-Jack]

To me, the major advantage of wood over any other heating fuel is that I can gather it myself and save huge money - can't to that with NG, oil, electricity, or pellets. Cheers!

Exactly!
And I might add that I enjoy getting out in the bush with the family and cutting our own wood. That's part of the whole experience.
If I had to buy wood I'd likely not be heating the house with it.

 

[MasterMech]

I think the major potential of pellet stoves is using product, whether that be wood fiber, paper, sawdust, cherry pits, etc, to produce valuable heat from something that was a "waste" stream. Harvesting a tree to make pellets is silly IMO. But if you could process the saw chips into pellets.....

 

[stejus]

Hello

Please do not get me wrong, I luv a nice wood fire and the heat a good wood fire gives with it's nice warm glow.

However when I went to Shaw's in Salem NH today I was very shocked and insulted at the price shown below!!

Save $1.00 only $8.99 for Premium firewood. It is birch wood that is all!!

I hope that big pile sits there and none of it get's sold until they start lowering the price!!
Does anyone else feel that way? If I burned wood, Shaw's would get a burning letter or email from me about that price

Firewood around here is approx. $250.00 a cord!!

Premium wood pellets are $197.00 per ton

Wood stove burners don't purchase wood in little bundles. Fireplace burners may do this for the occassional fire. Green cord wood around here is $130 per cord (Cut, split and delivered). I don't know any knowledgeable wood burners that would pay $250 for a cord of wood. Most wood burners have several years of wood stacked so we don't have to pay $250 a cord during the heating season for wood that isn't seasoned anyway.

 

[Swedishchef]

Pellets are certainly more convenient than wood if you don't have a wood lot and don't enjoy the cutting/splitting concept.

I have friends that do both (pellet stoves and wood stoves) and they all say that there are PROS and CONS to each. IF you don't have access to a splitter and a wood lot, pellets can be tempting. No mess, you don't need to be 3 years ahead, etc. When pellets go on sale, you order 3 pallets and you're done.

I don't have a pellet stove but have debated it in the past. Wood DOES cost $250 a cord if you have to buy it (hardwood). And from my understanding, most pellets are compressed hardwood sawdust. As Don mentioned, it is cheaper.

I think it comes down to 2 things: you have to enjoy burning wood, enjoy harvesting wood in order to save money. IF you take into account the splitter, saws, gas, oil, time, cost of a Class A 2100 chimney, wood stove, your time I don't think you "win financially" at the game.

As I have mentioned before, if I had to buy wood ar $250 a cord I wouldn't do it: my electricity is $0.074/KWh.

Andrew

 

[Don2222]

Hello

An all fuel class A chimney for a wood stove is $2000.00 to $2500.00 installed. It must go above the roof line so that severely limits where it can be located. A wood pellet stove chimney is $199.95 an all it needs is a hole in the wall, not a fire proof wall even!

Then the next time you are at WallMart, you can get enough heat for 24 hours for $3.88 !!

 

[CTguy9230]

wow....the local Walmart here is selling that same brand for

almost 8.00 dollars a bag...

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Hello

An all fuel class A chimney for a wood stove is $2000.00 to $2500.00 installed. It must go above the roof line so that severely limits where it can be located. A wood pellet stove chimney is $199.95 an all it needs is a hole in the wall, not a fire proof wall even!

Then the next time you are at WallMart, you can get enough heat for 24 hours for $3.88 !!

That's just about what it cost me to heat the house with my heat pump. Glad I got my got my wood stove to save me money.

I paid $1,200 for my 25ft wood stove chimney and $1,600 for the stove. I think most pellet stoves start around $3,500 don't they?
Is it true they won't work without electricity?

 

[Don2222]

Hello

An all fuel class A chimney for a wood stove is $2000.00 to $2500.00 installed. It must go above the roof line so that severely limits where it can be located. A wood pellet stove chimney is $199.95 an all it needs is a hole in the wall, not a fire proof wall even!

Then the next time you are at WallMart, you can get enough heat for 24 hours for $3.88 !!

That's just about what it cost me to heat the house with my heat pump. Glad I got my got my wood stove to save me money.

I paid $1,200 for my 25ft wood stove chimney and $1,600 for the stove. I think most pellet stoves start around $3,500 don't they?
Is it true they won't work without electricity?

You got a good deal on your chimney. I paid $1800.00 + $800.00 installation for an Stainless Steel All Fuel 6" chimney going up thru the middle of my house for the oil boiler! It wen through the right end of my son's closet in the bedroom so that price included boxing it in and installing 6 shelves between that and the front of the closet. My son really like his new shelves. See pics below.

Only a few pellet stoves cost that much. I got the $1500.00 tax credit on mine so it cost $2,000 brand new but you can get an excellent stove used that has been fixed up. I have one for sale right now if anyone is interested. It has all the bells and whistles!!

Pelpro Bay View 42,000 BTU FS Wood Pellet stove for sale - $1400
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/86348/

 

[gpcollen1]

Most of those cheap pellets do the following:

- give me less heat than other 'good' ones
- clog up my burn pot MUCH more than good pellets
- Cause me to do more maintenance on the stove

I some cheaper pellets when I buy 10 bags in early fall or late winter/spring but quality pellets make much more sense to me...

I have 2 wood stoves and one pellet stove. While the convenience of the pellet stove is nice, the wood stoves are still my favorite. So BIG deal, I have to check the stove and load some wood in the AM, when I get hoe and before bed time. I bet you i check on my pellet stove just as much - the only difference is that I don't have to add fuel again.

The big downer about a pellet stove is that they are NOT silent, like my wood stoves. Sure my Olympic has a blower but that thing is not on all the time unless it is super cold outside. Even then, it is quieter than pellet stove.

 

[Don2222]

Most of those cheap pellets do the following:

- give me less heat than other 'good' ones
- clog up my burn pot MUCH more than good pellets
- Cause me to do more maintenance on the stove

I some cheaper pellets when I buy 10 bags in early fall or late winter/spring but quality pellets make much more sense to me...

I have 2 wood stoves and one pellet stove. While the convenience of the pellet stove is nice, the wood stoves are still my favorite. So BIG deal, I have to check the stove and load some wood in the AM, when I get hoe and before bed time. I bet you i check on my pellet stove just as much - the only difference is that I don't have to add fuel again.

The big downer about a pellet stove is that they are NOT silent, like my wood stoves. Sure my Olympic has a blower but that thing is not on all the time unless it is super cold outside. Even then, it is quieter than pellet stove.

My stove is in the basement and heats the whole house so I do not hear it much. Some newer stoves have more quiet blowers like the Enviro M55 cast.

 

[maverick06]

either way... its lightyears better than burning oil!

but I will stick with my wood stove... each to their own.